Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta National Rally 2014

[AtomicNo13]

I've had this happen before, I think there needs to be a well established generator section!
I have no difficulty in asking someone to sit off a generator!
The weather is perfect, no need to heat or cool, there us no real need to run a generator, except for having bad batteries, which is remedied by buying new batteries! I'd talk to Linda or Jim. No need to suffer through this issue!


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[tsunami]

Best I could get with my iPhone. If they would let me on the roof, I know I could get a better shot. Could not get around corner of building.


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[MomcatA]

Tried that, but its not that great a shot. Perhaps if you ask permission to go through the administrative offices door you could have better luck.

[StreamNTyme]

Originally Posted by MomcatA

Tried to do just that, but he flared up before I even had a chance. I understand that lots of folks rely on their generators, especially for air conditioning. But, the weather here is glorious and we are parked very tightly. I agree, we need to make an effort to get along.

I find this amazing since we were there last year and since it was cool; we only ran our generator around dinner time just long enough to recharge the batteries. That was just an hour or so. Keeping them away from bothering other Airstreamers is just plain courtesy and they should be ashamed that they are able and allowed to intrude on your enjoyment.

[interstateflyer]

Balloon Fiesta is the first outing with our new 325 watt solar system. The batteries draw down to 94-95% by morning and are back up to 100% by noon. The Fall New Mexico sun has been more than enough to keep our two 220ah batteries topped off. Our electrical needs seem average given the weather conditions.

We decided on solar primarily because we didn't want to breathe generator fumes or subject fellow campers to bad air.

[timmaah]

Few from the back rows this morning

[AWCHIEF]

Beautiful photos being posted here and on Facebook. Thanks to all the posters.

[BentMetal]

Is this gathering at Enchanted RV park? I'm coming for the 2nd weekend with my 72 Argosy, but will be staying up at Taos at Monte Bello. Hope to get down to ABQ to see some balloons. Maybe I'll stop by your location to see some of the folks on this forum.

[Mike91208]

Originally Posted by MomcatA

Tried that, but its not that great a shot. Perhaps if you ask permission to go through the administrative offices door you could have better luck.

Here's one from last year.

[steverino]

Cindy was fortunate to get a ride in a hot air balloon this morning; here's a couple photos she took while floating over the Airstream assembly...

[cptfish]

A BIG thank you to all who posted their great photos. We were not able to get up in a balloon this year so loved your perspective!


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[Alumaholic]

Generators really were out of control this year.
The weather was so nice there was no need for AC during the day or furnace in the early morning.
I ran my Yamaha for 40 minutes in the mid-morning each day to recharge batteries, and that was plenty
That said, we have never had so many Airstreamers run generators all day long, from 5:00AM to 10:00PM, as we had this year.
Some guy two spaces down ran two Hondas all afternoon yesterday while he sat in his Airstream and watched the football game.
As MomcatA has mentioned, it could have been great weather for sitting inside or outside and catching a breeze. Grills were a problem too. Especially if you left your windows open and the fantastic fan running when you went down to the field.

[cptfish]

We totally agree. Our time was marred by someone running a construction generator all day from their van with their van back doors open. It was so loud that we ate a couple aisles down. I must compliment them though because when someone complained they turned it off and then only occasionally ran a smaller quieter one that they must have borrowed. I don't think people realize how the sound travels.


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[switz]

Had generators running by the Airstreams on either side of us several times each day and sometimes to 10pm cut off time. This was not a quiet place. The ballon burners over head masked the generator noise some Saturday and Monday.

We were able to leave the inverter on all the time, run the microwave to bake potatoes, run a WiFi hot spot and recharge phones and computers and the batteries were recharged for the next night. We saw over 400 watts charging several times during mid morning and mis afternoon.

The forum solar guru Lewster was there and he helped a lot of folks over the weekend. He gave our Magnum a few settings tweaks.

[silverlabs]

I would like to apologize to anyone we offended by our generator usage. We were dry camping for the first time in our NEW AS. Our batteries would not hold a charge. We tried to be EXTREMELY conscious of our energy usage but the batteries were still dead each morning. After several days, our neighboring experienced AS owners took a look at it. This coincided with the passing by of the Interstate battery car. They had tools with them, took a peek, and determined that the batteries in our brand new AS were dead. They quickly replaced the batteries. Unfortunately, we were instructed to run our generators to top off the charge in the new batteries.

I say all of this to offer a different perspective to the conversation. We tried to be as considerate as possible. We certainly would have complied if someone had said something about it and we did consult with those around us when we did have to turn it on. We are very grateful for the help and advice that we received from our neighbors. We will return next year, hopefully, and attend other rallies because of the friendliness and camaraderie of these fine people.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, we went to the Balloon Fiesta several years ago; It was our most expensive trip ever at that time. We bought a brand new Yamaha 2400 generator and a new Canon SLR digital camera, not to mention the Rally cost. We loved it and had a great time. People need to get along better. This was our first time boon docking and it was quite hot at times, so we needed our air conditioner. [hot is different to people from different areas of this country] During the pot luck, some guy said "who's generator is that running and making all that noise; They need to shut it off or I'll do it for them." I said it was mine and if it bothered people, I would shut it off myself. Ask me nicely and I will try to make things good. You touch my trailer or generator without my permission, I might run it forever just to piss you off. There was a nice older couple next to us that got pissed off and left early because someone started a heated political argument.

People, there are lots of Airstreamers there and they don't all think and live like you do. Lighten up or if you can't get along with crowds, stay home. Everyone wants to enjoy this rally so be kinder or helpful.

A strong wind blew my rear vent lid and broke it. A very nice man loaned me his ladder so I could go on top of my trailer and duct tape the broken lid in place until I got home and fixed it properly. A few hours after the duct tape fix, it stormed all night long. I thanked this man several times.

I want to go again and I will bring my Yamaha 2400 with me, but I won't accept rudeness from anyone. I hope people wanting to go to this wonderful event in the future will read these posts and figure out how to be nice, helpful, or mind your own damn business.

Note: my posts are usually nicer, but some of these post struck a nerve with me.

[Ken J]

I keep hoping this generator topic on this thread would cease and die - but since it won't I will add the comments of the organizers - the balloon fiesta is not by any means a quiet event - there are generators, flying airplanes - helicopters with search lights at night - flood lights that come on at 4am that have their own loud generators, fireworks, garbage trucks at 3am, balloon swooshing overhead, mounted rangers on horses walking the rally site in the middle of the night, dogs barking, loud parties, people playing musical instruments, someone blasting the song up up and away over loudspeakers (ok I admit to that one ) on and on - in short everyone having a great time - we have over 400 attendees at our event and over 100,000 attending the event on the field each morning - it is an incredible experience that only those who have attended know about - I am very sorry that some feel they have to leave or will never attend a large rally again, from the feedback we get I would say 99.99999% of those who have attended this great event absolutely love the magical experience of the 500+ balloons in all shapes sizes and colors and plan to come back again - so given all of this I would appreciate it if we could get back to taking about the incredible time we had, sharing pictures and talking about how we can't wait to do it all over again next year -

Ken J

[polarlyse]

Thanks Ken for putting all this into perspective. Never having attended we are
planning / hoping to attend next year using either the caravan or rally as the mechanism to make that happen. We have been to several large rallys but nothing on the scale of this one so I had no idea of what to expect so thank you for putting a realistic spin on it for me. Fortunately our health is good and we have boondocked many times and don't need any health related power hungary 120v equipment. I do carry a generator for those times but can easily get away with not having to use it. Prior to traveling I would check my batteries. They will be 4 yrs. old by next year and may have reached their expected reliable life. We were pop-up and tent campers in our past lives so maybe that had prepared us better for a minimalist camping style and so long as the weather does not require AC we're good. Now, having been monitoring this thread I feel comfortable that I can attend an event of this magnitude and be better prepared to have a great time. Whether I would do it again remains to be seen.

Thanks Ken and all contributors for enlightening me.

[Ken J]

Wonderful !!! We look forward to seeing each and everyone of you - I should add one more thing - I am looking forward to the first shower in 4 days ! But then that may be TMI lol !!


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[timmaah]

Should have joined us back in row I. The only annoying noise we had was from the buildings AC.